Aerial dancer Angela Delsanter, with Frequent Flyers, in a photo illustration that will be on exhibit, as part of the unique "Conjure Up" magic and illusion show at the Longmont Museum. (Preston Newell / Courtesy photo)

If you go

What: "Conjure Up," featuring aerial dance by members of the Frequent Flyers professional company, illusionist Professor Phelyx, visual art and live violin music by Sandra Wong.

It's one of those fusions of seemingly different experiences that fit together seamlessly, she says.

A magic show and aerial dance. In a museum. With live music, improvised, and visual art, seemingly come to life. In both an interactive, face-to-face environment, as well as a more traditional stage show. All in one evening.

It's the first time Frequent Flyers has brought a full show to Longmont, Smith says.

"Conjure Up" is essentially two shows in one, running simultaneously in two different spaces.

In the lobby, where the audience meanders through different live performers: a group of dancers performing on unusual apparatuses, like one that looks like an oversized, metal umbrella hanging from the ceiling.

The audience will switch rooms halfway through the show, and the two shows are linked together in ways that will surprise the audience — whether viewed backward or forward, Smith says.

Phelyx is what inspired Frequent Flyers to put together this show, Smith says. She saw him perform and was "really taken by his work," she says.

Phelyx, who has been performing for more than 30 years and done thousands of shows, has a bit of an old-timey circus feeling to him. His signature act: bending metal (forks, keys, coins) in open air with his mind.

He's also known for mind-reading and predictions, which have earned him the reputation as one of the nation's top mentalist magicians.

Performer Amy Schulster, pictured in a photo illustration that will be hanging in the Longmont Museum, as part of its unique illusion and dance show, "Conjure Up," presented by Frequent Flyers. (Preston Newell / Courtesy photo)

Smith says she has no idea how he does it. Not even in coordinating a show with him has he revealed his tricks.

In the fall, he opened for Devotchka's Halloween show at the Boulder Theater. Phelyx has been involved with other goundbreaking collaborations before, too. He worked with Wonderbound dance in Denver to create the first ever magic-themed, full-length ballet. It will return to the stage this October, he says.

He also has worked with aerialists of Cirque du Soleil and at Lannie's Clocktower Caberet, but he says this is the first partnership with Frequent Flyers.

Professor Phelyx, mentalist and illusionist, will pair up with local aerial dancers for an unusual show at the Longmont Museum. (Cheryl Nicolai / Courtesy photo)

"A big challenge is these amazing athletes' hands are full, because they're hanging from the ceiling," Phelyx says. "A good aerial act really kind of entertains an audience in a way that, once they've wrapped their heads around it, there's a natural tendency to suspend belief and erase the laws of gravity and physics. That is the appeal for trying to incorporate magic."

Smith echoes that. She says a feeling of surprise and awe lives in both magic and aerial dance.

"I've often thought there's something about aerial dance, where it looks impossible. It has an illusory quality to it," says Smith.

There's something different about seeing magic created right in front of your eyes, in a world that is bombarded with special effects and digital alterations, Smith says.

"In a film, the audience is removed, because you're not able to witness it firsthand being created," Smith says. "To me, a performance gives people the opportunity to be present while magic is being made and actually be a part of it."

She adds, "We need more of that, in the world. We want to remind people that the world has beautiful and magical things in it."

The show also has a strong visual art component to it. Professional photo illustrations by artist Preston Newell will hang throughout the museum near the dancers, to give the feeling that they came to life out of the images.

Even the costumes have an artistic component. Artistic dresses created by Mary Horrocks will be "danced into life" by the performers. This adds to the atmosphere, Smith says, where you never know what will happen next, or how exactly it came to be.

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